Inter-library Loans

What is Inter-library Loan (ILL)?

If you are unable to find a particular title in our catalog, we can request books and some materials (not audiovisual) from other library systems for a fee.

The book or article requested must be at least 6 months old to be eligible for ILL, and the requests can take an estimated 2 to 6 weeks to fill. In some cases, the request may prove impossible to fill.

Customers who use this service must have a Newport Beach Public Library in good standing in accordance with circulation policies.

The fee for inter-library loans is $5.00 per item, cash or check, paid at the time of the request, in-person. This fee applies to Newport Beach residents and non-residents alike. Credit cards may be used with a $5.00 minimum. There are no refunds for unfilled requests. If the request is for a multi-volume set, the charge applies to each volume. $5.00/reel is usual for microfilm, but this may vary.

A limit of 5 requests per calendar month, with no more than 5 unfilled requests at any one time, may be accepted from a customer. (Unfilled requests are considered “in processing” until the request is filled.)

If it is a “reference use/in library use only” item (microforms, rare or fragile books, for example) it will be kept at the Reference desk.